Creatures of the Night
by Beastman
Summary: 50 years after the Bloody Roar series, a young Zoanthrope named Rahne Wallace stalks the nights in New York City. What connection does she have to a BR cast member? Read on…
1. The Lady in Red

Ch. 1: The Lady in Red  
  
"Alright, let's do it," the young redhead mumbled. She punched a short sequence of numbers into her armband, and stepped into the light. She was svelte yet muscular, wrapped in a tight red tank top and pants, and black leather boot up to her knees. She tightened her black leather gloves in a menacing motion, and stared down the men sharing the hallway with her with piercing blue eyes. Her shoulder length, wild red hair almost seemed to glow against darkened hallway.  
  
"We've thirty seconds b'fore me bomb goes off. Do ye really wanna risk it?" she said in a slight Scottish drawl. The men, all clad in black jumpsuits with glowing green eyes, advanced. "Always the hard way. Aright then, have at thee. I'm unarmed."  
  
The man closest to her pulled a gun, aimed true to her heart. The woman grinned, and in a motion uncannily fast, batted it away, and delivered a fast spinning kick to the man's jaw. He staggered, hit his head on the near wall, and fell to the ground. The red-haired woman turned her attention to the next man, who had pulled a knife. She swerved and dodged his clumsy attacks, then leapt into the air and wrapped her legs around his throat. In a single motion she twisted her body, throwing her foe into the man behind him. She smiled at her handiwork as they climbed to their feet.  
  
Suddenly, a concerned sense of realization came over her face. "Shiite, she thought, "I've only ten seconds!"  
  
"Well lads, it's been fun, but I've really got to go." She made several backflips before turning around fully, and leaping through a nearby window. Her arms shielded her from the shattered glass as the wind rushed against her face. On Hundred stories up, this would be suicide for any normal person.  
  
But Rahne Wallace is not a normal person.  
  
A rush of energy enveloped her body as fur sprouted from her body, her limbs tightened and stretched, and a thin, leathery membrane grew in between her fingers. Whence the transition from woman to Zoanthrope was completed, all it took was a flap of her bat-like wings to escape from the danger of falling. A satisfied smile crept along her lips as her explosives detonated, ravaging the 96th floor of the building but leaving the rest intact. Her mission completed, she began the flight home.  
  
It had been 53 years since the last stand of the Old Tylon Corporation, and only 15 since the rise of the new Tylon Corporation. Stefano and Roman Tylon, twin sons of the old Tylon CEO, resurrected the company and perused enough government contracts to make it a multi-national conglomerate. With its position firmly rooted, it resumed right where it left off, with Zoanthrope experimentation. But Rahne didn't really care about that. A freelance mercenary can't get entangled in one fight, lest she lose her own reputation.  
  
She landed at her loft, atop a non-descript yet expensive apartment building near the coast. She'd lived there a good many years, its convenience a boon. She could fly in under the cover of night, and no one ever asked questions. She lift her wrist band close to her face, and punched another series of buttons. A small screen flickered, displaying the image of a young man with long, black hair. "Mission accomplished. Tylon's gonna take a while te recover from its accounting division bein wiped out."  
  
"Very good, Miss Wallace. You'll find that the agreed to sum has been directly wired into your account," he said in a sight British accent.  
  
"Good. If ye need me again, ye have me frequency. Rahne out."  
  
She removed the band and set it next to her home computer. She took of her gloves and set them on her desk, and walked away. As she strolled towards the bathroom, she removed her shirt and flung it onto a nearby papasan. She entered, and removed her last article of clothing, then brushed aside the shower curtain. Her hands deftly glided over the marble tile, turning the shower knob to just the right position, then pulling it from the wall. A hot stream of water shot forth from the showerhead, covering her naked body. It was a simple pleasure, a long hot shower after a mission, but one she cherished nonetheless. She took a small, red sponge, filled it with her favorite body soap, and rubbed it along her body. She then took a bottle filled with a red fluid and poored it over her hair. She worked it into a thick lather, and washed it away. A soft linen towel hugged her nude torso, wrapping her in its warmth and comfort.  
  
She walked out to her living room, and a shiver ran down her spine. A young, brown-haired man lounged in her favorite chair, a sinister grin glaring her in the face. He was thin and slender, yet very tall. A long white trench coat with silver studs hung from his black-clothed body. Leather pants hugged his legs to his leather highboots and a black cotton shirt his body.His eyes were a blue so cold that they seemed to be able to freeze her to the bone. "Hello Rahne," he said in a voice so devoid of any humanity that made her blood run cold.  
  
"Harada Busuzima. What d'ye want?" Harada, that name stuck in her mind like a knife. One of the most influential people in the world, Harada Busuzima was the head of the Neo-ZLF, a terrorist organization dedicated to Tylon Corporation's destruction and the subjugation of normal humans. Although every bit as corrupt at the Tylons, Harada was every bit as dedicated to Tylon's downfall as the various Zoanthrope Rights Movements. So many sides in this conflict, Tylon, Neo-ZLF, and Shina Gado's own Winterguard, the government's own response to Tylon. In order to preserve righteousness, she reasoned, sometimes you have to deal with the devil.  
  
"You know full well what I want, Rahne Wallace." He stood, revealing himself to be at least a foot taller than Rahne herself. He approached, his eyes never leaving Rahne. He passed her, reaching for a bottle of champagne on ice, and poured a glass. "1995, a good year, was it not?"  
  
"Ah wouldn't know." Rahne said tightly lipped.  
  
"Is that so?" he took a sip of the champagne. "I can see you are clearly not in the mood for conversation, so I will be concise. I have a job for you."  
  
"Well good for ye. But ah'm a busy girl..."  
  
Harada drew close, Rahne's pulse raced and her breathing quickened. His neck nearly pressed against her face. She could smell him, a scent of privilege and prestige, of money and power, and corruption. She felt contempt this man, yet hung onto every word he said.  
  
"You'll meet with this man, Richard Gado. You'll follow his every move, learn his every manurism and if I give the word, end his life."  
  
"An why would ah do that?"  
  
Harada pressed Rahne against himself, and brushed his lips against her ear. She shuddered in half anticipation and half disgust. "Because Rahne, you can't resist."  
  
Rahne pushed herself away, then promptly slapped Harada. "What makes ye think that. Sure yur handsome... and rich... but ye're nuthin ta me!"  
  
Harada chuckled to himself, and Rahne saw red. She clenched her fists, ready to strike Harada down where he stood. "I didn't mean that, Miss Wallace. I mean," he again drew close. "... I know your secret."  
  
Rahne sighed. She knew that Harada knew her secret; she just hoped he wouldn't use that knowledge. It was a foolish hope; Harada Busuzima was every bit as treacherous as his infamous parent, Hajime. The only difference between the two was that while Hajime Busuzima was utterly mad; Harada was cold, calculating, and prideful.  
  
"I expect to hear good news on your latest assignment, Rahne." He smirked walking outside to the balcony. A small helicopter rose behind him, and he grabbed a rope ladder from it. "If not, you'll be hunted and persecuted more than any Zoanthrope."  
  
As he pulled away, Rahne let out a low, feral growl. She hated being powerless to choose her own assignments, and hated the fact that Harada was privy to her deepest, darkest secret. Deep inside her heart, she could feel something welling up deep inside. She could feel the hunger, more a lust actually, accompanied by dull ache in her teeth and scratchiness in her throat. She wanted it, needed it, but couldn't have it. She clenched her chest and held tight to the nearest piece of furniture. For what seemed an eternity she ached inside until the craving finally passed.  
  
"Curse ye Harada Busuzima. Someday, somehow ah will kill ye," she whispered, finally retreating to her loft as the first rays of the sun warmed the city below. 


	2. And her name was Lisseth

Ch. 2: And her name was Lisseth  
  
"Harada's jerking me around," Rahne thought angrily. "This Richard Gado is nothing special, just another FBI grunt, running around, living his insignificant life..." Rahne sighed in disappointment. Richard's mother, Shina, now there was an interesting person. Mercenary, Zoanthrope, advocate on Zoanthrope rights before the Government's Zoanthrope Defense council, then leader of the Department on Zoanthrope Affairs. Rahne had read both of her books on life as a Zoanthrope, and found them quite fascinating. But her son, this Richard Gado, was so dull in comparison. Sure he was handsome in a black tank tope, green camo pants and dark glasses, with a shaved head and chiseled physique, but as far as everything else went, he was just normal. No signs of deeper government involvement, Hell, it didn't appear as if he was even a Zoanthrope himself.  
  
He got on his motorcycle, as he did every day she watched him from afar, and sped off. She transformed and took to the air in pursuit. She could fly high enough to avoid most notice, and if someone did they'd more likely assume she were a large bird. Every day it was the same routine, Richard would ride from his building to another one, approximately 5 blocks away, and meet with a woman he called "Reiko." She was a tall, attractive woman with shirt black hair and always wore a black leather jacket and black glasses. She had a distinct scent to her, a mix of blowfish toxin and clove oil. Her voice was soft yet forceful, with an accent betraying her Japanese descent. Another thing Rahne noticed, she always carried a cane with her, but she seemed to tell where everyone and everything was around her, and showed no signs of a limp.  
  
"Reiko," Rahne thought with a smirk, "would be far more interesting to follow."  
  
Richard made his way to their usual meeting spot, and Rahne perched high atop a nearby building. She took the binoculars from her waist and peered through them. The usual for Richard, meeting Reiko at the door, handing her some documents, and making idle, inconspicuous chatter. Rahne again found herself captivated by Reiko. Through the zoom of her binoculars, she could see the traces of crimson in her hair, her flawless face, toned legs appearing from a leather miniskirt, and the white fur along the collar of her jacket.  
  
Rahne sighed. If something interesting didn't happen soon, she was going to flip out. She shut her eyes, and heard something buzz past her ear. She opened her eyes, only to see Richard Gado staring directly at her. She knew she had been spotted, and her wish had been granted. "Bloody hell," she cursed as she transformed into bat form, flew down the side of the building, and landed in front of her targets. She changed back and approached.  
  
"So, what gave me away?" she asked.  
  
"You sighed," Richard said a low, grim baritone. "Reiko heard you. I'm impressed, not everyone can follow me and not let me notice. Just who the hell are you?"  
  
Rahne sighed. Normally, she would just tight-lipped refuse to name herself and her employer, but she didn't really give a damn about this assignment. Sure her secrets were at stake, but with any luck they'd help her shut Harada up once and for all. "Me name is Rahne Wallace. I've been blackmailed by a man named Harada Busuzima into spyin on ye."  
  
"Harada... figures. He's been on my ass for a while. What's he got on you?"  
  
"That's me own personal business," Rahne snapped. Richard growled, and grabbed Rahne by the chin. He roughly jerked her head to the side and looked intently at her neck. He grunted and released her.  
  
"Figures."  
  
"Does everyone know about that?"  
  
Reiko's attention seemed to be suddenly grabbed by an outside force. She jerked her head to the right, and sniffed the air. "Footsteps. Two sets, coming from the southwest. You were followed."  
  
"Great. Looks like today's not a total bust after all." Rahne smiled as two men appeared. One was tall and slender, with blonde hair and a white three- piece suit. The Second was larger, had brown hair, and was clad in a similar black suit. They stopped, a few feet from Richard. The white one approached, and pointed straight at Richard.  
  
"Richard Gado! You've hunted us for the last time!"  
  
"They're not here for me? Bloody Hell...." Richard procured two daggers from his waist, while Reiko slipped a long blade concealed in her cane. "So, thing's 're gonna get a wee bit messy?" Rahne asked licking her lips, "jest the way ah like it."  
  
The two men pounced, the white on at Richard and the black one at Rahne. The force of his momentum took her by surprise. Within the blink of an eye he had her wrists in his grasp. A sadistic laugh escape his lips. Rahne struggled, but could not get free. The man smiled, revealing a mouth filled with razor-like teeth and two elongated canines. He reared back to bite her, but stopped suddenly, jerked his head back, and roared in pain. He let Rahne go, and turned around to face Reiko. A long red runnel of blood ran down his back, where it could be surmised Reiko had slashed him. He took a step forward, promptly meeting with Richard's fist. Richard then grabbed the man's throat and pinned him to a wall, and jammed a dagger through his heart. The man began to flail wildly as more blood than the human body could possibly hold flew from his chest. Finally, he stopped, and went limp. The man in white stood back, wide eyed.  
  
"Ha, you can't kill what you can't see!" he said, taking a small silver object from his coat. He smirked, throwing it to the ground. The area around them became enveloped in an intense light, blinding Rahne and those around her.  
  
"God damn it," Rahne cursed as she turned her head away from the blinding light, "The son of a bitch had a flash globe!" Rahne's eyes remained averted for sever seconds, until the spots ceased dancing in front of her and she looked to Reiko. She was standing, blade sheathed, over the decapitated body of the man in white.  
  
"I never could see him," she said. "Unfortunate that he did not know that."  
  
Rahne sighed, looking at the bodies. She had hoped that the secret Harada knew wasn't what she thought it was, but now it was apparent that it was. "I didn't want this to happen, Harada..."  
  
"...has nothing to do with this!" a feminine voice called from aside. Several men in black robes had gathered, forming two parallel lines leading to Richard. A unearthly mist rose from the ground as the moon ran blood red. A woman clad in transparent white robes approached, dragging alongside her a rusted old scythe. Down her sides were crosshatched scars, blackened and oozing. Her chest bore a large crucifix-like scar, and her wrists bore stigmata. Her face was gaunt with a deathly pallor, her eyes sullen and dark, covered with long, pale violet hair. Her blackened lips parted as she spoke in a voice as chilling as death itself. "Tell me, Richard Gado, are you proud of your handiwork? Do you enjoy slaughtering my children?"  
  
"The Original..." Richard said, for the first time betraying emotion in his voice.  
  
"Lisseth will do," the woman replied, raising a hand. Her nails were long and sharp, resembling blackened claws. She approached Richard, who stayed motionless in shock. With a swift, brutal motion, she struck, plunging her hand in Richard chest, then swiftly pulling out his still beating heart. Blood flowed from Richard's mouth as he fell to his knees. Gurgling, his face twisted in horror, he fell to the ground. Silent, motionless, dead. Lisseth held his heart up as a trophy, and opened her mouth. He mouth, like those of the man in black earlier, was filled with rows of razor sharp teeth. He reared back, and opened wide, devouring the heart in a single, bloody bite. She chewed slowly, savoring the muscle before swallowing it.  
  
Rahne stood, calm and at the ready before this unholy beast. "You're heart does not race, indeed, I cannot hear it beat," Reiko said, "Are you not frightened?"  
  
Lisseth approached, and looked Rahne deep into her eyes. Lisseth's were gray and emotionless, dead as was the rest of her. Her moth now stained with blood was the only splash of color on her. She smirked, and backed away, vanishing along with her entourage. Rahne looked at Reiko, then at Richard's body.  
  
Reiko placed a hand on Rahne's sholder. "We should leave. The police will be here soon."  
  
"Um, yeah. We should." Rahne replied, still trying to shake off what had just happened.  
  
"May I ask to stay the day in your home? We have much to discuss."  
  
"What do you know about me?"  
  
"I know why no birth certificate exists for Rahne Wallace. I know why you prefer the night, and I know about your role in the death of Jenny Burtory," Reiko answered. "In short, I know everything about you. Please, Richard would have wanted this."  
  
Rahne nodded, then walked away with Reiko. She took one last look back at Richard's body. "Harada... What in Belial's name have you started?" 


	3. Blood of Divinities

Ch 3: The Blood of Divinities  
  
Harada smirked to himself as the crimson-haired beauty stormed into his office. His personal bodyguards, Viktor and Luther stood poised to attack, but he calmly waved them off. He knew Rahne would not have the audacity to attack him in his office, with his position and sway over her.  
  
"Harada, what in God's name was that?"  
  
Harada chuckled. "That is the latest thorn in my side, Ms. Wallace. Tylon has a new toy."  
  
"And ye want it, don't ye?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Curse ye, Harada Busuzima, Ah'm not one o' ye lapdogs!"  
  
"Yes you are, Rahne Wallace. As is every single person in this city, whether they know it or not."  
  
Rahne turned to walk away but looked back and shot one last glance at Harada Busuzima. "Ye are your father's son, Harada, but ye are not God."  
  
Harada smirked as she walked away. No, he was not God. In fact, he was as far from divinity as one could get. A man not born of a woman, he was as unholy as Satan herself. In the twilight of his life, Harada's "father" Hajime came to the realization that he would die with no progeny, no heir to his brilliance. So he took a DNA sample of himself, and spliced it with that of another, a woman formerly under his care in the Old Tylon Corporation. From those scraps of gernetic material, Harada was born. Schooled in Genetics, bionics, politics, Harada became ever the genius his father was, no, even more so. He had a insatiable thirst for knowledge, and at age 12 graduated the world's top universities. He was the jewel of his father's eye. Until that day. With the Neo-ZLF founded and his political career on the rise, there was one man who could damage him. One man who held secrets that could ruin him. Certainly he'd never speak, but one could not be too careful. And so, on Harada Busuzima's 20th birthday, he was sad to hear of his father's passing, of an apparent suicide. Apparent, but false. He wished he could see the look on his old man's face as he fell to his death, but he'd get over it. Besides, then as know, he'd more important things to worry about.  
  
"The woman, she could prove troublesome." A voice barely recognizable as human called from the shadowy corners of Harada's office.  
  
"She always is. But she's useful."  
  
"What of this Lisseth? Could she not be of more use than an insubordinate wench like her?"  
  
"Dear Dr. Goldberg, you overstep your bounds. I know what I am doing, just like when I found you, restored you, and made you into what you are now. Ms. Wallace does not know it, but she is far more special than even she realizes."  
  
Rahne arrived at her loft, and plopped down on her futon with a heavy sigh. Reiko entered from the bathroom; clad in a violet bathrobe Rahne had lent her. "I take it from your breathing patterns that your meeting with Harada did not produce the desired results?"  
  
"Tryin ta get a straight answer from that man is like trying wina dog sled race with a team o' Chihuahuas."  
  
"Heh..."  
  
Rahne looked a little wide-eyed at her companion. "That's the first time I've heard ye laugh. Ye know, ye say ye know everything about me, but I know bupkiss about ye."  
  
"Yes," Reiko sighed, "I suppose that is rather rude of me. Where should I start?"  
  
Rahne smiled; finally she'd be able to learn of this fascinating creature before her. "At the beginning."  
  
"Very well. My name is Reiko Alison Ohgami, eldest daughter of Kenji Ohgami and Uriko Nonomura-Ohgami." Rahne's ears perked at those names. There probably wasn't Zoanthrope alive who didn't know those names. The Nonomura- Ohgami Foundation has done more for Zoanthrope rights in the past 20 years than any other organization prior. "I was born with Stargardt disease. By the age of 5 I was legally blind, and by 7 my vision was completely gone."  
  
"Ach, I'm sorry..."  
  
"Don't be. It's not as bad as you may think. I can hear and smell so well that I have no trouble getting around. 'Turn your weakness into your strength,' my father would say. I became to the Foundation what my father once was to the ZLF. A warrior, draped in darkness, an enforcer, but this time one for the good of human and Zoanthrope alike."  
  
"Wow. Yu're so strong. Ah don't know if Ah could..."  
  
"Of course you could, Rahne. As I said before, I know all about you. "  
  
"What exactly do ye know?"  
  
"I know that the name Rahne Wallace is not the one you were born with. I know how you turned up in New York, with no memory as to who you were, or where you came from. I know how you were raised by an international spy, Jenny Burtory."  
  
"Jenny..." that name stuck in Rahne's mind, a searing memory of happier times long since past.  
  
"I know how you followed in her footsteps, becoming a mercenary who'd take the highest paying contracts one day, and the lowest the next. I know how all your missions were to benefit Zoanthrope/Human relations. I also know about the night of January 15, 2051." Rahne's eyes widened. Images flashed in her head as Reiko sat closely besides her, taking her hand. "You had accepted an assignment, rather uncharacteristically, from Harada Busuzima. He had just split from Tylon Corporation, and wanted you to destroy his own research logs on something called the Divinity Project. You went, and did your job, but someone stood in your way, your own surrogate mother. I know that Jenny Burtory never made it out of that laboratory, and I know that you've blamed yourself all this time."  
  
"I know..." Rahne's voice trailed off and tears filled her eyes, "It's not truly my fault that Jenny died. But the hurt, its still there..."  
  
"I know it's hard. I lost a brother to Tylon." Reiko drew close," but I had the strength of my family to rest upon."  
  
"Maybe that's the problem, Ah don't..."  
  
"You have me..." Reiko's lips gently brushed against Rahne's. For a moment, Rahne wanted to give in, but she abruptly pulled away.  
  
"Ah... ah'm sorry, ah can't..."  
  
"I understand," Reiko sighed as Rahne stood up.  
  
"Its not that, its just..." Rahne took a deep sigh, "You can have me bed tonight." She looked back and smirked. "And don't ye dare try arguing with a Scotswoman."  
  
"Ok. Good night, Rahne, and pleasant dreams." Reiko kissed Rahne on the forehead, and walked into Rahne's bedroom. Rahne collapsed on the futon and again tears filled her eyes.  
  
"Ah want to, but ah can't. She knows most everything about me, but not all. Dear Lordy, how can I tell her what really happened in that lab, about the Divinity Project? How can I tell her what Harada knows? That their blood runs in me veins? Ah'm no different from Lisseth herself... curse ye Harada, curse ye for doin this tah me!" 


	4. Living Dead Girl

Ch. 4: Living Dead Girl  
  
The cold night breeze brushed against her face as she sped along among the clouds. The night always seemed to sooth her, letting her collect her thoughts. Tonight, she had much on her mind, too much for her like. Questions she needed answered, and only one person who could answer them. One person who knew her, knew Jenny, and knew the Divinity Project. And one man she despised even more than Harada Busuzima himself.  
  
"Ah cannae go to him. Ah need ta resolve this by meself," she resolved. She swooped down to a nearby building and looked over the edge. "Harada, Lisseth, Reiko, everything's getting turned upside-down. By gods, Ah jest wanted me simple life..."  
  
Transforming again, Rahne swooped back the way she had come, riding the rising air currents fro the city below to carry her into the sky. "Ah suppose the first thing Ah should do is tell Reiko what little Ah do know..."  
  
"The night is a beautiful thing, is it not?" Harada said with a smirk.  
  
"I'd rather not engage in pleasantries, Busuzima," the hologram of the female said.  
  
"A feisty one, are you not?"  
  
"You are asking me to deceive and spy on an innocent woman. Had you not blackmailed me into this, I would have never agreed."  
  
"But you did, my dear Reiko Ohgami. And you will continue to serve me, unless you would rather your parents knew your recent activities."  
  
"Damn you, Harada..." A man then entered the office, interrupting Reiko's curse. He was tall and muscular, with long black hair and a square jaw. He wore a black turtleneck shirt and black slacks that barely contained the musculature within. A wide brimmed hat covered his head, but long black hair still flowed out. He briefly shot a glance at Reiko, then at Harada.  
  
"Ah, appointment has arrived. If you will excuse me, Reiko, Dr. Goldberg and I have business to attend to." He pressed a button on the Holo-phone, and Reiko's image flickered off the screen.  
  
"Dr. Goldberg, how is our other object of interest?"  
  
"The one called Lisseth has been stationary since her involvement in the death of Richard Gado."  
  
"And what of him?"  
  
"As expected, sir"  
  
"So know we know," he mused. "Very well, Dr. Goldberg, keep an eye on both, and report any change directly to me.  
  
"As you wish."  
  
Harada picked up a glass of red wine and took a sip, looking out over the city, his city. "Soon, the secrets of the divinity Project will again rest in my hands, and more importantly, immortality." A silhouette flew past the full moon, eliciting a smile from Harada Busuzima, "and you, Rahne Wallace, will provide the key."  
  
Rahne swooped down, to the terrace of her loft apartment, and changed to her human form. She quickly brushed back her hair, and walked inside. She opened the door, ever slowly and quietly, to her bedroom. Reiko was asleep inside, curled up on Rahne's bed. She sighed, and walked over to her papasan. "Ah'll let her sleep the rest of the night. In the mornin' Ah'll tell her." Rahne streached out, made herself as comfortable as possible, and closed her eyes.  
  
"Rahne... Rahne... Rahne..." an eerie voice called out.  
  
"Wha? Where am ah? Reiko?"  
  
"Rahne... one of us... one of us?"  
  
"Lisseth? No, Ah'm not like that! Ah'm not...!"  
  
"Humans... broke the taboo... created us... made us... from the originals... Rahne... Rahne... RAHNE!" Rahne's eyes shot open, and saw the familiar visage of Reiko Ohgami. "What... Ah was..."  
  
"Judging from screams and sobs, having a nightmare." Reiko answred. "I know it is little consolation, and I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of preparing breakfast. I hope pancakes are to your liking..."  
  
"Reiko, we need ta talk. Please, sit down."  
  
"Certainly," she replied in cimplience. Rahne sighed, and looked her square in the eyes.  
  
"About last night, Ah'm sorry, it was all me fault." Reiko began to interrupt, but Rahne stopped her. "Please, let me expain. Me body... well, Ah'm unique. Me body sends out a hormone, makes other people unable ta resist me. Usually, Ah can control it pretty well, but last night, it just..."  
  
"I understand," Reiko said comfortingly, "but what do you mean, 'unique'?"  
  
Rahne let out another, deeper sigh. "That's another thing Ah wanted to talk ta ye about."Rahne picked up a letter-opener from her coffee table, and Reiko's face took on a look of shock and horror as she heard it tear her flesh. A long, deep gash from her elbow to wrist, bleeding profusely. Rahne took Reiko's hand, and brought it to her arm. Her fingers touch, expecting to feel blood and torn skin, but instead found clean, unbroken flesh, as if the edge never pierced her.  
  
Rahne took Reiko's hand to her chest, placing it I between her breasts. They stayed there a moment, and again shock overcame Reiko. "No heartbeat..." Rahne took another deep sigh, then stopped. Minutes passed. Five minutes, ten, fifteen, they just sat there, Reiko know completely and thoroughly shocked. "No breathing... What are you?"  
  
"An aberration..." Rahne replied. "Tylon... he... they... Project Divinity"  
  
Rahne... Rahne... let yourself be free...  
  
Rahne clenched her head and screamed in pain. She thrashed wildly, in a voice barely human. Reiko rose quickly to comfort her, but instead found herself thrown back by Rahne's tantrum. "Rahne, Rahne! What's wrong?"  
  
"Greeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaagh!" Rahne screamed, then stopped, and slouched over.  
  
"Rahne...?" Reiko slowly approached, placing a hand upon her shoulder. Rahne jerked up, glaring at Reiko with blood red eyes. A sadistic smile came over her face as she grabbed Reiko's arm and flung her to the ground. Before she could crawl to her feet, Rahne punched, pinning Reiko to the ground. She pressed her body against Reiko's, and dragged her tongue along Reiko's exposed flesh on her arms and neck. Rahne's mouth hovered, feeling the heat rising from the blood in her body. All those veins and arteries... the blood...  
  
"Rahne, please.... This isn't you..." Reiko's pleas were interrupted by a rough, unloving kiss from Rahne. She rose from her lips, the squirming and crying Reiko, and let out a low, guttural growl. She again focused her attention on the neck, and then began to drift farther down. "Rahne... please stop... what is wrong?" Rahne paused, and looked into Reiko's glassy, gray eyes. She shot to her feet, and screamed again.  
  
"Rahne? Rahne, are you alright?"  
  
"Reiko... Ah'm so sorry... Ah... Ah have to go!" Rahne ran to the terrace, and jumped, changing into her bat form letting the air currents take her. Reiko walked over, and watched her fly away.  
  
With a tear in her eye she wondered aloud, "Harada, what have you gotten me into?"  
  
The old man walked into his office, and hung his coat on a nearby hook. He took his place at his desk, and lit a cigar. Life was good when you are as wealthy as he. A hearty breakfast, a Limousine to work, a top floor office with only as much work as he wanted to do, and the finest Cuban cigars. Yes, life was good, but today, something felt off. There was someone here, a familiar presence. A woman he knew from a long time ago. She crawled to him, weakly, her hair covering her face and her palms sweating profusely as she reached for his pant legs.  
  
With a look of desperation, she implored his mercy. "Help me... Roman Tylon..." 


	5. I'll Never See Any Side of Heaven

Ch. 5: I'll Never See Any Side of Heaven  
  
Roman Tylon, age 56, President and CEO of Tylon International. And the one man who knew the secrets of the clandestine Divinity Project. If anyone in the world could tell her why she was losing control again, it was he. Machines whirled and buzzed around her, lights flashed and needles poked. A normal woman would feel violated at such an invasion, but Rahne was used to it.  
  
Finally, it all stopped, Rahne stepped down, and put a shirt on while Roman looked over the collected data. He scratched his balding head, and let out a grunt of frustration. "I can't figure it out. Your physiology is the same as before. Same red and white blood cell counts, same EEG, same everything. Are you sure it is not merely stress?" he said with a smirk.  
  
"Stress? Ye want stress? Ah nearly raped an innocent woman, Roman! There's something wrong wit me! Something ye and yer stooges did ta me during the Divinity Project!"  
  
"Yes, many of the children did have defects, but you were pure, remember? You're not a defect, and I'm telling you there's nothing physically wrong with you!" Rahne gave up, put the rest of her clothes on, and stormed out. She had gone to the one man she despised over all others for help, and none was rendered. At least she was thankful no payment was demanded, for Tylon's price was always high. Inside though, the old man grinned.  
  
"Kojiro Ohgami, it appears our perfect weapon is almost ready to be used. Harada Busuzima may believe he has claim to Divinity, but we know otherwise, do we not?" A man stepped from the shadows. He was tall, with long black hair pulled into a topknot, and amber eyes. He wore a simple black robe and carried a black handled sword in a black sheath, with gold accents. Under his robe, a tight black jumpsuit clung to a perfectly tones and muscled body, tempered by years of training. The only mar on this man was a noticeable scar over the right corner of his mouth.  
  
"The woman is dangerous, Roman Tylon. I would advise caution."  
  
"Nonsense, my boy! I have the son of the legendary Kenji Ohgami on my side! What could go wrong?"  
  
"Confidence is an admirable trait, Roman Tylon, but in excess is deadly. I am your ally true, but only through the hand of your daughter. Do not forget this."  
  
Rahne flew through the darkness draped skies, trying desperately to search her mind for the answers she sought. Divinity had been so long ago, she had thought it was behind her, but now the skeletons in her closet were threatening to drive her mad. Something was causing her pain, and she didn't like it.  
  
"Rahne. They're lying to you Rahne... they are all lying to you..."  
  
"Who are ye?" she yelled.  
  
"Rahne?" a woman's voice called. Rahne turned to see Reiko standing in the shadows. "Rahne, what is happening?"  
  
"Reiko... get out of here. Run, as fast as ye can... Do it, now!" Reiko stood steadfast, refusing to budge. Rahne ducked her head, letting out another feral scream like the one only hours before.  
  
"She is yours, Rahne. She is, after all, only human..."  
  
Rahne pounced, with vicious intent in her eyes. But before her attack could fully commence, a bright strobe pushed her back. She covered her eyes and winced, as the silhouette of a man flew from the circling helicopter to the rooftop below. He kneeled for a moment, then rose to his full height. He wore a long black coat that obscured his visage, with a shinobigatana strapped to his back. He gracefully swung to face Rahne revealing an aged, wizened face, yet devoid of the usual signs of such an age. His hair was long and silver, as well as the beard that hid his chin. His auburn eyes cut a path straight to Rahne, making her pause in primal fear. He bushed the right side of his coat aside, revealing several kunai tied to his leg and the chain of a kusari-gama wrapped around his waist.  
  
"Rahne Wallace. I have no desire to hurt you, but if you insist on attacking my daughter, I wall have no choice but to defend her."  
  
Rahne payed the man no heed, instead only lunged at him. He deftly spun around her attack, chopping her on the back of her head as she traveled past. Rahne staggered, and let out a growl. "Impressive. That blow would incapacitate a normal foe." The man's words of compliment were lost on the feral Rahne, and her only reply was another messy pounce. The man leapt into the air, and threw on of the kunai from his leg. His aim was dead on, pinning Rahne's hand to the ground. The beast howled in pain.  
  
"Now, are we ready to talk like sensible human beings?" he asked. Rahne pulled the kunai from her hand, and it healed almost instantly. "I guess not." Rahne again lunged at her foe, but he simply spun around and again struck her neck. She leaned against the nearby wall. When she turned, the man made his own attack, turning his hands into mole like claws and impaling her in the stomach to the wall. He readied the other set aimed true to the beast's heart. She squirmed a bit, and finally fell limp when the man removed his claws. Reiko ran to her side.  
  
"Rahne! Daddy, how could you?!"  
  
"She will be fine. Is that not true, Rahne?"  
  
"In that sense, yea, Ah'll be fine..." Rahne rose, with no signs as to her injury barring a torn shirt.  
  
"Rahne, what are you?"  
  
"Will you tell her, or shall I?" Reiko's father asked.  
  
"Ah will, Kenji. Reiko, Ah'm nae human."  
  
"This I know, you are a zoanthrope."  
  
"Nae, Ah'm something else entirely. Me kind predates Zoanthropes, predates man even. In the beginning we had no name, but man has given us many. The Romanians named us Strigoi, in my homeland, we are Baobhan Sith, in China we are Chiang-shih, in Greece Vrykolakas, our names number en the hundreds. But the name 'vampire' will suffice to describe us."  
  
"Vampire...?"  
  
"Yae, it is true. That is why Ah never go out in tha daytime, why you've never seen me eat or drink, why Ah have no heartbeat or respiration, and why Ah heal so quickly. Ah exist on the brink of death, ever looking on either side."  
  
"I had no idea..." Reiko uttered.  
  
"It gets worse, much worse. Those things that attacked us and killed Richard, those are as much my children as Lisseth's. Lisseth is, Ah'm sorry to say, the closest thing Ah have to a daughter."  
  
"A daughter?"  
  
"In a way. Vampires are incapable of reproducing in the traditional sense. A new vampire is made when a human dies from 'r feeding. But as mankind flourished, our numbers faded. A few in Tylon learned of our existence. They knew of 'r immortality, and craved it. That began Project: Divinity, an effort to reproduce vampires without killing the human to do so, as is required normally. But what was created was horrific. Twisted, half dead mongrels, driven only by hunger. To this day, Lisseth, cloned from my own body and carried by me, is the only one to survive. She has all of my strengths, and few of my weaknesses."  
  
"Sunlight, which scalds you, Holy Water, whose touch is like acid, the crucifix, which burns you, garlic witch repels you, and the stake, which kills you," a new voice said. The trio turned to see a man clad in a black robe, Kojiro Ohgami. "Your weaknesses are well documented by Tylon. "Hello sister, father. I am here to remove this creature from your concern."  
  
"Ah should have known. So why come f'r me now, and not when Ah was in Tylon's lab?"  
  
"Because," Kojiro said flatly, "we wanted you to fly free a little while longer. But if we don't take you now," he lift a finger to the air, pointing behind Rahne, "he will." Rahne turned to see another man, this one much larger, with glowing red eyes. She knew him a servant of Harada Busuzima, Dr. Stephen "Stun" Goldberg, Harada's own attempt to replicate Divinity.  
  
High atop another rooftop, the woman clad in white watched with her children. "Poor Rahne. You know so much, yet are still so ignorant. Soon you will see the truth, dear sister, soon you will see..." 


	6. The Deception is Complete

Ch. 6: The Deception is Complete  
  
"Well, we seem to be at an wee bit of an impasse, don't we?"  
  
"The situation is only as difficult as Dr. Goldberg wishes to make it. Tylon owns Divinity. Therefore all materials and data concerning it are the exclusive property of Tylon Corporation," Kojiro said with a confident smirk.  
  
"Dinnae Ah get a say in this?"  
  
"No," Stun hissed. "This is far greater a matter than your master realizes."  
  
"He is my ally, nothing more."  
  
"Is he now?"  
  
"Enough of this. If you insist on being difficult, I will be forced to take the specimen by force. "  
  
"Never!"  
  
Stun leapt, coming down on the ground where Kojiro stood. The young man deftly jumped away, and drew his sword. In a motion too fast for the eye to see, he severed Stun's right arm. The man-insect howled in pain as he reeled from the loss of the limb. He crouched over, let out a loud growl. He grasped the stub of arm, and let out a blood-chilling shriek. Another loud roar accompanied an unnatural sound of flesh straining as a new arm burst forth from the bloody stub. "It will be much more difficult than that to stop me, boy. Now, where were we?  
  
"You were providing a distraction so that our prey could escape."  
  
"Of course. It is my Master Harada's wishes."  
  
"Then I have no reason for being here." Kojiro jumped back into the shadows. Stun stood motionless for a minute, until a lone man in a hunter green suit approached.  
  
"Well played, Stephen. I knew you were the right man for this job," Harada said in his usual confident smirk.  
  
"With all due respect, Harada, is it truly wise to allow the woman to fly free? She is dangerous, unpredictable..."  
  
"Dangerous, yes. Unpredictable? Not in the least. She's seeking answers, Stephen. Answers only one person can truly provide. Sooner or later, she will fly to my arms, and then good doctor, is when she will become ours. Now I have business to attend to. The rest of the night is yours, Stephen."  
  
"Thank you, sir." He stood, waiting for several more minutes, until a swirling mist enveloped him. He grinned, in his own bestial way as a woman ion long transparejt robes approached. "You have done your role well, my child."  
  
"I live to serve, mother." Stun knelt before her, to receive Lisseth's dark blessing. He could feel his skin tighten, his muscles strengthen, as his once decaying body knit itself together. "Harada truly believes he is responsible for your rejuvenation, but we know the truth, don't we child?" As soon as her arcane work was done, she removed her hand from Stun's forehead, and began to float away.  
  
Kenji looked out over the city from his private helicopter, then at Rahne and Reiko. "Where are ye taking us?"  
  
"Anywhere you wish, Rahne," the enigmatic ninja said. "The Ohgami-Nonamura Foundation is not a militia, we don't keep anyone against their will. We do, however, have safe facilities in New York, as well as Paris, London, Tokyo..."  
  
"Nae thank ye," Rahne sternly refused. "I want answers, Mister Ohgami. And I aim ta get them." Rahne walked to the door, and flung it open. With a glance and a wink to Reiko, she jumped, seamlessly transitioning into her bat form and gliding away. Reiko rose with a sigh, and shut the door.  
  
"You have developed feelings for the woman. Deep feelings." Kenji said, cutting the vocal silence.  
  
"You knew?" Reiko asked in somewhat astonishment.  
  
"I am a trained ninja, daughter. Your heartbeat, breathing, and facial contortions betray you."  
  
"You... do not..."  
  
"Approve? Daughter, I, a ninja once in the service of Hajime Busuzima, fell in love with a bubbly girl who was the adopted sister of my own adopted brother's wife. I have coped with many things in the past. Your sexual orientation is of little surprise to me." Kenji waved his hand to the door. "Go to her, in part for your mission as an agent of the Ohgami-Nonamura Foundation, and in part for your own happiness as a human being." Reiko nodded. "I know more about you than you suspect, my daughter," Kenji's eyes locked in a cold stare, "MUCH more..."  
  
"Man, all this crap going on, and its only been what? Three days?" Rahne thought to herself. "Ah cannae even remember. Harada showing up, blackmailing me into following Shina Gado's son, he getting killed, Lisseth returning, Reiko, Kenji, Stun... its all too much..."  
  
Rahne landed next to the door to her apartment, and quickly went inside. The sun had started to rise, and that would be bad for her. She knew all too well the sun's effect on her brood. Her flesh would bubble and boil, peeling from her body and falling to the ground. Her muscle, now exposed, would steam, until she would explode and finally evaporate away. She pushed these thoughts from her mind and retreated to her bedroom. She would sleep the day, only to emerge at night's dawn.  
  
Her eyes opened to a darkened room, and a familiar figure at her door. "What time is it?" she asked.  
  
"Almost midnight," Reiko replied.  
  
"Ye've been here all day?"  
  
"Yes. Someone needed to guard you, in the case that Tylon or Harada would make use of your weakness."  
  
"Um, well thank ye, Reiko. I don't know what to say..."  
  
"You don't have to say anything. I'm here for you, Rahne, until the very end. Now, shall we make life miserable for Harada or for Tylon?"  
  
Rahne smiled. "Jest gimme a quicj minute f'r a shower, and then we'll raise a little Hell." Rahne walked to her bathroom, and in her wake a small mist rose, wrapping around Reiko.  
  
"Very good my child..." a voice whispered to the blind woman, "Soon she will be ready to receive her destiny, and at last she will be free..." 


	7. Progenies of the Apocalypse

Ch. 7: Progenies of the Apocalypse  
  
_"You know the truth. It is time to set it free..."_  
  
"P-please..." the man in the hunter green suit groaned.  
  
"What Harada? Now you beg for mercy?" Rahne growled as she stood over Harada. All around her, bloodied walls stood silent testament to the struggle that befell her. "You know nothing, do you? You fancied yourself a genius, but in the end you knew nothing!"  
  
"Of course he knows nothing, Rahne. He is but a puppet."  
  
"And you too, aren't you Goldberg? You're a puppet to."  
  
"Of course," he said flatly. "I live only to serve my mistress."  
  
"Whatever. Come on Reiko, we're leaving."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"We've beaten all we can out of Mr. Busuzima, now its time to see what Ah can wring out of Roman Tylon." Rahne made her way to the window, ready to leave the battered Harada, when Stephen Goldberg locked eyes with her.  
  
"My mistress awaits you, Rahne. When the time is right, she will send for you."  
  
"Not if Ah find her first." Rahne fell out the window, turning into her bat form on the way down. Reiko followed, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Making their way to Tylon Headquarters. Rahne hovered for a moment, then descended. She approached Tylon's office, and opened the door. Kojiro stood in a darkened corner, and Tylon sat with his chair turned away from her.  
  
"Tylon!" she shouted, with a quick glare to Kojiro. "We will have words!"  
  
"No, you will not," Kojiro answered in defiance.  
  
"Ye wanna try and stop me?" Rahne hissed back.  
  
"No. I'm afraid Tylon will not be having words with anyone. Ever again."  
  
Rahne approached Tylon and swerved his chair to face her. Suddenly, she found herself holding Tylon's severed yet bloodless head. She dropped it to the floor, and looked at the message scratched on his desk. "Jenny"  
  
Rahne glared at Kojiro. "What aboot ye? With Tylon dead..."  
  
"His brother, Stefano, controls the corporation. My duty was to Roman, but only because of her daughter. I am a Tylon's ally no longer."  
  
"Well that's good ta hear. I was afraid I'd have ta hurt ye."  
  
Reiko entered the room, sniffed the air. "It smells of death in the place. Rahne, you didn't?"  
  
"Kill 'im? Can't say Ah didn't want to, but it looks like our prey has beat me too it." Reiko ran her fingers over the desk, making out the letters carved into its surface.  
  
_"Jenny"_  
  
"Yeah, Jenny Burtory... It was during the days of the Divinity project. I was there not to stop Divinity, but to accelerate it. Apart from Tylon, Harada though... he could... I was a specimen, an original vampire used to create the clones. Jenny was there to put a stop to it. It all happened so fast... She burst in, I was in the cloning chambers... and the vampires... they... they devoured her, in front of my eyes. There was nothing I could do... nothing..." Rahne's eyes began to tear up, and she fell to her knees. "I as good as killed her..."  
  
"Rahne, you didn't know..." Reiko said, trying to console her. "I... Rahne... I..." Reiko let out a deep sigh. "I've been working for Lisseth this whole time. She said if I helped her, she would give me my eyes back... but I didn't think it would hurt you this much..."  
  
Rahne quickly rose to her feet, grabbed Reiko by the throat, and shoved her against the wall. "Where is she?! What does she want with me?! TELL ME REIKO OR SO HELP ME I WILL BREAK YOUR FUCKING NECK!"  
  
"Rahne... I don't... I don't know..." Reiko gasped. "P-please... you are... hurting me..."  
  
Rahne released her grip, and stormed to Tylon's desk. She reared her arm back, and slammed her fist into it, shattering the wood and sending splinters all over the room. She then grabbed Tylon's chair with the body still in it, and threw it out the window. She let out a deep, primal scream that caused both Reiko and Kojiro to shirk back.  
  
"Turning ye against me, playing me the fool, making me doubt me own sanity, Lisseth has been playing me like a harp from Hell since this whole caper started. And Ah've had enough."  
  
_"If you are ready... come... to me..."_  
  
"I can hear her calling me. Stay here, tha both of ye. This is something Ah need to handle alone..."Rahne jumped out the whole she had just made, turning into her bat form and soaring on the night winds, heading towards the mysterious voice calling her... to her destiny.  
  
Reiko approached the window, and let out a dejected sigh. Her brother approached. "What do we do now?" he asked.  
  
"What she said. We wait here, and we pray."  
  
_"You are close... so very close..."_  
  
Rahne set down among the ruins of a long abandoned building. A place she'd never willingly go. This place carried to many memories. This was the site of Divinity. Where her progeny came to be. A mist began to form along her feet. A voice, spoke to her from the dark.  
  
"It is a lie, you know. Your version of what happened, Jenny being devoured by our children, is as much a lie as her death trying to shut down. Do the gaps in your memory not betray these truths?"  
  
"Lisseth. What are ye doing dragging these up?"  
  
"You never actually saw me until that day, did you not? Not until the son of Shina Gado, the woman who funded Harada's experiments, began to expose what happened?"  
  
"Shina thought Harada was working on medicines, not breeding an unholy army of the undead! As soon as she found out, she pulled the funding!"  
  
"Yes, it is true. But the damage had been done, hadn't it? We had been created."  
  
"Ye mean ye had been created. Ah was the original..."  
  
"Is that what they told you? Tell me, Rahne do you remember what Jenny looked like? Can you tell me how she wore her hair? What color her eyes where? Can you tell me what her voice sounded like?"  
  
"Of course I can! She... she... her hair it was..." Why can't ah remember?"  
  
"So you know nothing..."  
  
_How since ancient times, we lived among them._  
  
"The human who broke the taboo..."  
  
_They were determined to find the secret._  
  
"... through sorcery and alchemy to science, to find the way to end the end..."  
  
_Eternal Life. Harada Busuzima and Roman Tylon, ambitious men, with a single goal._  
  
"...to be that much closer to Gods."  
  
_But it could not be._  
  
"They needed the blood of man, just like us. Feral, primal creatures, each one a failure, each hungrier than the next."  
  
_Those created for eternal life became nothing more than killing machines._  
  
"Busuzima would not give up. He found one last vampire, and used her to create his masterpiece. The raw materials were pure, engineered from a single female vampire. Made into me, and YOU."  
  
_I am... I am YOU LIE!_  
  
"Lies? You are built from lies, Rahne. Why you recall being raised by Jenny Burtory, but cannot remember her face. You speak with a Scottish accent; yet have no memories of its streets or countryside. Why your memories abruptly began at the Divinity Project. And why, in your long existence, you can never recall once looking at a calendar. They laid your memories like a stones of a grand skyscraper. Our mother, JENNY BURTORY, the last pure vampire died in captivity FIFTY YEARS AGO. But her legacy lives on, in you and in me. I am you, Rahne, and you are me. We are both Jenny Burtory. That is why you can't..."  
  
_I do remember her face. It is our face. We are..._  
  
"We can be one again, Rahne. We can remake our ancestor. All you have to do, is let my life's blood flow into you, alow my flesh to enter yours, devour me, just like the false memory of our mother. She left the clues in us, now is the time..."  
  
_Rahne..._  
  
Two Years Later.  
  
_Purity..._  
  
She walked down the street, a cold chill hanging in the air. It had been cold for a long time, ever since that night. Rahne left the office of Roman Tylon, and never returned. She waited, longed for her return, which never came. She rebuilt her life, her and her brother. Under the more moderate control of Stefano Tylon, Tylon International became a force of good. She, her brother, and Stefano all worked to undo the misery Roman had caused. Now if only she could be happy...  
  
The chills continued. She felt as if she was being watched, almost constantly. But it wasn't the nervous sort of paranoia that often bred insanity, but almost as if it were a benevolent force, looking out for her.  
  
"You are still out there, aren't you Rahne?" Reiko walked away, as a fine mist swirled a nearby building.  
  
_Yes and no, my darling. Rahne Wallace lives no more, but Jenny Burtory, the woman you really knew, lives on. But there are things that are not meant to be, circumstances even we cannot control. But I'll be there for you, Reiko. Forever..._


End file.
